BHP eyed as potash bidder January 18, 2011 MINING giant BHP Billiton might finally get its chance to buy part of a major potash producer after agribusiness Cargill yesterday signed a deal to sell off its majority stake in fertiliser producer Mosaic. Cargill plans to offload its 64 per cent stake in Mosaic, valued at about $24bn (£15bn), to free up cash for the [...]
You can’t fool everyone all the time January 18, 2011 FOR months now, I have been calling for an immediate, symbolic rise in interest rates to stem spiralling inflation and to show markets the UK is serious about fighting inflation – only to be criticised as an over-excited hawk. Yet month after month, inflation has over-shot and still the chorus is that “the Bank of [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 18, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL GRID AWAITS RULING ON CHARGES National Grid will receive a long-awaited ruling from New York state regulators on the amount that it can charge its customers. A positive outcome would give the company breathing space to improve the performance of its US business. A negative outcome, suggested by a draft ruling last [...]
Myners: risk from big four January 18, 2011 LORD Myners yesterday told a parliamentary committee that the concentration of auditing services among the “big four” accounting firms represents a systemic risk. Appearing before the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee, the former City minister said that successive mergers had led to firms not having enough alternatives to Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG when [...]
AIG picks banks to advise sale January 18, 2011 AIG has selected four banks to advise on the government’s sale of its 92 per cent stake in the company. Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase will manage the deal, with the insurer said to be gunning for fees of 0.5 per cent of the sale’s value, below the 0.75 per [...]
Gerova investigates report January 18, 2011 Gerova Financial, the US group that last month agreed to buy Seymour Pierce, said yesterday it had hired risk analysis firm Kroll to investigate possible market manipulation and collusion aimed at driving down Gerova’s stock. Gerova is questioning a 10 December document which it said had been circulated by Dalrymple Financial. Gerova said the purportedly [...]
HMV supplies hit by credit insurance cut January 18, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV came under further fire yesterday after suppliers revealed that its credit insurers were drastically cutting the amount of sales they would insure. An internal memo from Sony showed that its credit insurers had withdrawn all cover for new sales to HMV after a meeting with HMV chief executive Simon Fox had [...]
Relief for Apple as sales soar January 18, 2011 APPLE beat expectations with its quarterly results yesterday, buoyed by strong Christmas figures that saw the company sell 7.3m iPads, 16.2m iPhones and 19.5m iPods during the period. Analysts had expected earnings per share (EPS) of $3.95 versus an actual EPS of $4.64. Revenues were $26.7bn (£16.7bn) compared with a consensus forecast of $24bn. Apple executives will [...]
MPs join fight for financial education January 18, 2011 A PARLIAMENTARY lobbying group campaigning for compulsory financial education in schools will launch on 31 January, with the backing of prominent MPs and industry experts. Chaired by Conservative MP Justin Tomlinson, the all-party parliamentary group is attracting widespread support even before its official launch, with more than 70 MPs interested in joining. Tomlinson will be [...]
Mandelson mulls city move January 18, 2011 LORD Mandelson is thought to be mulling an advisory position at Lazard, the investment bank. By ministerial rules, he is not allowed to advise on any deal that directly relates to a contract with the government for 12 months after his departure from the Cabinet. However, he can draw on contacts made during government to [...]
